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8 The Armenian Reporter | July 18, 2009 Community Sophie Mekhitarian named principal of Keyan School Rosie Bedrosian retires FRESNO, Calif.– After more than 30 years of service to the Armenian Community School, Rosie Bedrosian has announced her retirement as the school’s principal. The Charlie Keyan Armenian Community School Board of Education named Sophie Mekhitarian – a former Clovis Unified School District teacher and administrator – to replace Ms. Bedrosian at the conclusion of the 2008 –2009 academic year. Ms. Bedrosian began as an elementary grade teacher in 1978, just two years after the founding of the school. Following a term as vice principal, she succeeded Seth Atamian as the school’s principal in 2002. A capable public speaker and administrator, Ms. Bedrosian has been the face of the school for the past seven years and managed its daily operations over a series of relocations – from the school’s longtime home on Fresno Street, to its Tower Campus at Saint Therese Catholic Church, to a temporary residence at the Saint Luke’s Church, to its current Clovis home on Villa Avenue. Every other year since 2000, she has led the 5th and 6th graders and their parents on a tour of Armenia. Ms. Bedrosian recalled that one of the most memorable highlights of her tenure came in 2006 when she and school board officers traveled to Coachella to first meet Charlie Keyan. A few months afterward, the school secured the funds to purchase the property for its new campus. “I wish the school continued success and all the best for the future.” Ms. Bedrosian looks forward to spending more time with her family and continuing to serve on the Central Executive Board of the Armenian Relief Society and as a member of the society’s local Sophia Chapter. Ms. Mekhitarian comes to the ckacs with over 30 years experience in the public school system. She received her master’s degree in education from the University of San Francisco and has been the superintendent of Sunday school classes at the Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church as well as a former secretary of the school’s board of education. Ms. Mekhitarian has been busy meeting with board members, teachers, and parents and making preparations for the 2009–2010 school year. “Mrs. Rosie Bedrosian has been carrying the torch for many years,” said the new principal. “She’s given us what we need to take it to the next level. She will always be a part of this school and be remembered for her patience, endurance, and the love she holds for our heritage.” Ms. Mekhitarian plans to expand the basic curriculum and scope of extracurricular activities while remaining focused on the broader objectives of the ckacs. “It is the mission of the school to develop people of substance, of class, people who fulfill their personal goals and reach out to society, leaving it better for the next generation.” Rosie Bedrosian, who is retiring as ckacs principal, with students during this year’s Awards Day presentations. New ckacs Principal Sophie Mekhitarian and ckacs Board chairperson Ara Karkazian. PT ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT FOR NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION Looking for bright, mature, multi-lingual (Armenian/French/English) individualwho is well organized and pays attention to detail. Must be computer savvy and have strong planning and problem solving skills. Potential for advancement to FT Administrative Assistant. Contact the Armenian American Health Professional Organization (AAHPO) at 201-546-6166 or info@aahpo.org. N. Lael Telfeyan, Ph.D., LCSW Let us know what’s on your mind. Write to us at letters@reporter.am You share the same community. Discover what happens when you share the same experience. Counseling and Psychotherapy with Individuals, Families and Couples Adults and Adolescents 140 West 97th St. New York, NY 10025 By appointment 917-975-3109 24 Windsor Road Great Neck, NY 11021 e-mail: nlael@aol.com For more information about Relay For Life or to join an event near you, visit www.cancer.org/RelayNYNJ or call 1.800.ACS.2345. Paint the Town Purple in celebration of Relay For Life on May 1, May Day For Relay. 1.800.ACS.2345 www.cancer.org/relayNYNJ Need cash before the holidays? Sell your stuff with the Armenian Reporter classifieds@reporter.am
The Armenian Reporter | July 18, 2009 9 Community “Cheers to Conservation” event in New York will promote environmental awareness, celebrate Sarkis Acopian’s vision NEW YORK – A grand vision has turned into an even grander reality for an Armenian-American industrialist whose passion for the environment has enhanced environmental understanding and conservation, not only in Armenia but across the globe. The late Sarkis Acopian’s mission of promoting conservation awareness among the citizenry of Armenia and the diaspora is being continued at the Yerevan-based Acopian Center for the Environment. On Thursday, July 30, the Acopian family will sponsor an event, “Cheers to Conservation,” hosted by the Young Professionals of Greater New York at the agbu headquarters in New York City. The event is intended to encourage public involvement for conservation in Armenia. The republic is home to a multitude of habitats and species that are quickly disappearing, becoming extinct or migrating to Turkey and other neighboring countries because of deforestation, overhunting, wetland drainage and pollution, says nephew Alex Karapetian, 27. “The current lack of environmental preservation in Armenia isn’t just an Armenian issue,” he adds. “It’s a global issue and everyone should be involved.” Mr. Acopian, a successful Armenian-American entrepreneur who first started his power supply business, Acopian Technical Company, in 1957, was a philanthropist who believed in supporting the community quietly but with unmatched generosity. In addition to the Acopian Center for the Environment, the Acopian name is synonymous with several world-class educational facilities, including the Acopian Engineering Center at Lafayette College, in Easton, Pennsylvania, the Acopian Center for Ornithology at Muhlenberg College, in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and the Acopian Center for Conservation Learning at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in Orwigsburg, Pennsylvania. Mr. Acopian also established endowments for leadership at the American University of Armenia (aua) in Yerevan, Lafayette College, and Florida Institute of Technology, in Melbourne, Florida. A global and progressive thinker, Mr. Acopian wanted to make a lasting impact in Armenia as well. Not satisfied with just monetary contributions, he initiated an informed environmental movement in the country using a two-pronged approach to attain his goal, beginning in 1992. First, he established a department at the American University in Armenia to promote environmental conservation through research, education, and public involvement. Today, this internationally recognized, award-winning department is known as the Acopian Center for the Environment (ace). In addition to providing specialization within the field of conservation, the American University of Armenia requires all of its students to take at least one course in environmental studies before graduating. Mr. Acopian believed that by providing an educational facility that promoted conservation and environmental awareness, the citizenry of Armenia, especially the younger generation, would begin to appreciate their natural resources and encourage others to also protect Armenia’s biodiversity. Second, he created and spearheaded the Birds of Armenia Project (boa); assembling a team of The Princess Royal (Princess Anne) presented Dr. Karen Aghababyan, ace director, with the Whitley Award of Nature, Britain’s highest conservation award, for his research on the White Stork Project. ornithologists from around the world to work on a field guide. His goal was to promote conservation awareness in Armenia and introduce its rich natural treasures to the world. boa has since published three important works: A Field Guide to Birds of Armenia (1997), (in Armenian, 1999), a reference map of Armenia (1999), and The Handbook of the Birds of Armenia (1999), all of which were published at a time when the newly independent Republic of Armenia needed to thrive on its own. Mr. Acopian’s son Jeff and daughter-in-law Helen have been a vital part of the family’s mission of promoting environmental conservation in Armenia since the inception of the Birds of Armenia Project in 1992. The field guide was the beginning of an awakening for Armenians to realize what they had and for people outside Armenia to learn what Armenia had, they say. Supporting the Acopians’ claim is Frank Gill, vice president of the National Audubon Society who praised A Field Guide to Birds of Armenia as “clearly and effectively documenting the bird life of a region largely unknown in the West, but richly endowed with biological and cultural diversity. Here an international team of expert ornithologists shines the international spotlight on the fascinating birds of Armenia in one of the world’s ... very best regional field guides.” The field guide now serves to introduce both Armenians and international birders to the bird life of Armeniaan initial step in better protecting this portion of the country’s biological heritage. Today, the Acopian Center for the Environment sponsors many educational programs for youth. A conservation education competition called “Birds in my Backyard” encourages schoolchildren to build bird feeders, observe the birds, and take a photo or draw a picture of a bird that comes to the feeder. This competition also puts special emphasis on the youth and children’s participation in discussing current environmental challenges in the region. In May 2007, the Princess Royal (Princess Anne) of Great Britain and Sir David Attenborough presented Dr. Karen Aghababyan, ace director, with the Whitley Award of Nature, Britain’s highest conservation award, for his research on the White Stork Project. With the help of Armenian villagers throughout the country, this project monitors the very common and abundant white stork as a potential bio-indicator of environmental changes in Armenia. As “nest neighbors” in the data collection process, the villagers gain a better understanding of wildlife ecology and improve their relationship with nesting storks. “People don’t realize that if we do nothing, Armenia’s natural resources will be permanently depleted,” Mr. Acopian once said. “Unfortunately, planting trees won’t revive natural forest systems that are being destroyed, and in a few years, environmental preservation in Armenia will be a lost cause. We can only be ultimately successful if the youth join our fight for environmental awareness.” Thus, the Acopians reached out to their nephew, Alex Karapetian, for his experience and ties to the Armenian-American youth. Upon joining his uncle at Acopian Technical Company, Mr. Karapetian was awakened to the urgent need for action to safeguard Armenia’s unique natural areas. “We Armenians have strong roots and my generation needs to come together for this great and urgent cause to preserve our homeland’s natural resources,” he says. Originally from Los Angeles, Mr. Karapetian has served as the assistant grassroots director at the Armenian Assembly of America in Washington, and managed the Assembly’s annual summer internship program. He has also taken leadership roles among the young alumni of Lafayette College. Dr. Keith Bildstein, the Sarkis Acopian Director of Conservation Science at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, the home of the Acopian Center for Conservation Learning, From left: Dr. Keith L. Bildstein, Hawk Mountain Director, Alex Karapetian, and Jeff Acopian. sums up Mr. Acopian’s global conservation impact: “Sarkis had the twin gifts of recognizing meaningful conservation actions, and supporting conservation organizations that wanted to achieve them. At my organization, the Acopian Center’s unique international internship program has An ace staff member surveying a villager outside the villager’s home as part of her data collection for the White Stork Project. Acopian Engineering Center dedication at Lafayette College in Easton, Pa. trained more than 300 promising young conservationists from 58 countries on six continents, including three Armenians. This new generation of conservationists is now helping to protect bird life globally. “Quite literally, Mr. Acopian’s informed giving has made all the difference in the world.”
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